PeckShield reported the breach resulted in a $43M loss, with most stolen assets quickly converted to ETH and BNB.
Singapore-based crypto exchange BingX on Friday confirmed a security breach after observing numerous “suspicious” outflows from one of its hot wallets online. As a result, the exchange pledged to reimburse users for their losses.
The group revealed through an X post that it had discovered unusual access to the hot wallet and that they believed it to be the result of a hacker attack. “We immediately initiated an emergency response, including asset transfers and pausing withdrawals,” it said.
BingX went on to say that the losses were not significant and that they were handling the matter. Furthermore, they guaranteed that while a small portion was affected in the hot wallet, the majority of assets are safe in cold wallets.
🚨 Security Update 🚨
— BingX (@BingXOfficial) September 20, 2024
At 4 AM (SGT) on Sept 20, our team detected abnormal access to the BingX hot wallet, suspecting a hacker attack. We immediately initiated an emergency response, including asset transfers and pausing withdrawals.
🔒 Only minor losses so far, and we’ve got… https://t.co/7CFsqF5W20
PeckShield Confirms $43M BingX Hack, Exchange Freezes Withdrawals for 24-Hour Security Check
However, blockchain security firm PeckShield reported that the security breach actually led to a $43m loss, primarily involving Ethereum and BNB Chain. At first, the firm had pegged the number to be around $26m.
According to PeckShield, the hacker quickly traded most of the stolen goods for roughly 7,864.7 $BNB and 4,526 $ETH. 5.3K ETH, 4.1K BNB, and 1.65M MATIC were among the stolen funds as of the most recent update.
#PeckShieldAlert #BingX has been hacked with loss of ~$26.68M worth of cryptos. The stolen funds mainly outflowed from #Ethereum & #BNBChain.
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 20, 2024
The hacker has already swapped most of the stolen assets for ~4,526 $ETH & 7,864.7 $BNB.
Check the details of stolen assets here:… pic.twitter.com/4m2OfxTpsV
Vivien Lin, BingX’s chief product officer, said that the exchange has temporarily suspended withdrawals to enhance security. During this time, the team is performing an emergency inspection. She added that withdrawals would resume no later than within 24 hours.
“We are working on a compensation plan, which will be announced soon,” she added.
Crypto Exchanges Face Security Crisis
Recent events in the cryptocurrency exchange industry presented serious security challenges, and two more high-profile incidents brought attention to the flaws in these platforms.
Crypto exchange Indodax encountered its own ordeal last week, where hackers pilfered around $22m in digital assets.
Meanwhile, WazirX, a well-known exchange in India, suffered a substantial loss, with attackers orchestrating a series of dubious transactions that siphoned off $234m from the platform.